action project Flashcards
Question 1: State what community action you completed and the global issue on which it is focused. Community action.
Answer: To raise awareness on how to minimise waste in a school community
Question 2: Global issue
Answer: Sustainable development goals (SDG 12 - Responsible consumption and production)
Question 3: Explain how democratic your approach was when deciding what issue to address in your citizenship action.
It was democratic because we asked everyone to write down an issue that was important to them. We discussed each issue and voted to decide the issue we would address as a team.
Question 4: Identify two different methods of primary research you used in your citizenship action. Choose one of them and explain how you used it.
we organised a mock election to raise awareness among students of the nature of parliamentary elections: We used agree/disagree statements in a questionnaire and also conducted a poll to find out voter intentions. The questionnaire showed what people thought was important. The candidates used the results in their election speeches.
Question 5: Explain how you used two primary sources in the research for your local community action.
we carried out a survey to work out what people thought about litter in the area and this confirmed that it is a big problem, especially near the take-away restaurants.
Question 6: Explain the difference between primary and secondary research in your citizenship action.
Primary research establishes new information using qualitative and quantitative methods. Secondary research is when you use evidence discovered and presented by somebody else. It already exists.
Question 7: Explain how your team decided which of two different viewpoints to accept when proposing your citizenship action plan.
We had two different proposals. One person wanted to raise awareness but the other thought we should do a social action. The two advocates presented their ideas, telling us what we would have to do and what it would achieve. We then discussed the two plans and concentrated on which was the most achievable in the time we had. We then took a vote and agreed to do the awareness-raising activity because it had the most support.
Question 8: Explain how far your community action project achieved its intended goals.
people’s views were changed; different viewpoints were understood; awareness was raised; other people’s lives were affected positively; participants benefited from taking part.
Question 9: Imagine a student in another country is about to carry out a community action focused on the same global issue you chose. Explain the possible benefits this student might gain from talking to you about your community action project.
Sometimes an interesting topic is not well suited to a community action project for a range of reasons, such as shortage of information or practical issues. There is a range of methods and skills needed to carry out an action successfully; talking to someone with experience can be helpful, for instance finding a good sampling strategy or learning how to use smartphone apps to help with the actions. No matter how well planned an action is, unforeseeable events can and will happen and you need to be able to deal with them or the whole action could be put at risk. Talking to someone with experience can help rule out unsuitable topics early on. Another person’s findings or views can be used as part of your own secondary research or to help identify the right research questions to ask.
Question 10: Explain one of the methods you used to achieve your goals when you carried out your citizenship action and say whether you would do it in the same way again.
We held a mock election to inform our class about the voting system. Part of our presentation explained how voting was organised. One of our team talked to the class. Some people did not listen and didn’t know what to do when it came to voting. If we did it again I would do it much more as a question-and answer session to get people involved and thinking. Afterwards I would give them some sort of test, maybe a simple crossword, word search or ‘filling in the gaps’ to make sure that they understood what we told them.
Question 11: As part of your project you were asked to research people’s views and perspectives. Explain two decisions you made about whose views to research.
I decided that I needed to talk to male and female students in order to get their differing views about #MeToo; I thought it was important to find people in a position of authority to speak to which made me think of approaching the local government.
Question 12: Imagine that another student is about to start a similar project to yours. Based on your own experience, explain the advice you would give to help another student persuade an audience effectively.
i would explain the strengths and weaknesses of different campaigning methods such as posters, leaflets, websites; strengths and weaknesses of different presentation methods such as school assemblies, films, etc.; issues to do with engagement (e.g. some school age groups may be more receptive than others to new information)
Question 13: Explain two ways in which you communicated your views on your global issue.
I built a website called ‘Why we need to save water’ and included striking images of drought, which communicated the severity of the issue to people visiting it.
